What do you think about de-escalation safe rooms for students?

I completely agree. They should have padded rooms where they can beat the shit out of each other.

Um, I’m divided. Your link is showing a room where a violently angry student could be so he won’t hurt himself, but how the hell you going to get him in there if he’s already that angry?
I’ve been in a building (elementary) that had a “deescalation room.” They are a fun place for a kid to hang out, so guess what…..

However, I whole heartedly agree with having a place to send a disruptive student if, for no other reason, the rest of the class can get back on track.

I sort of understand the concept, I guess. But I believe this will be abused by the kids. Example…I have history class right after recess and I don’t like the class and haven’t done the homework or there will be a quiz or test…I’ll pick a fight on the playground and then spend the history class in a nice quiet room instead of actually having to do my job, which is attend school. Now, fast forward a couple years and now the child is in high school. What have we reinforced or what standards have we set in elementary school? Is that child more or less ready to face high school? Fast forward a couple more years and now the child is entering the real world. Are they better prepared for that because we have taught them young that you can check out of reality to get control of yourself?
It isn’t teaching the child how to deal effectively with conflict…it is teaching them how to run away from it.

But it really isn’t the school’s job to teach them how to deal effectively with conflict. We do try, with some success, but it goes back to the parents. They need to be notified every time the child is sent away. It is THEIR job to raise their child to become a productive adult, not the school’s. The schools are there to teach, period.
You can lose hours of teaching time dealing with one BD kid. While you’re dealing with him, what about the other 27 kids in the room? Is that one child more important than the rest?

I find it interesting that the safe room is coincidentally perfect as an unacknowledged place to hide when the inevitable mass shooter roams the halls.

@Dutchess_III I find your comment interesting, how would they get him in there….if he/ she is violent enough to require the padded room rather than a time out or other calming technique, do they hog tie them, throw them in and wait for a response?

I’m not sure I can agree with basically locking up a child in a padded room, it does rather authoritarian. Plus they’d probably take away his backpack or cell phone, which is very much limiting his personal rights, as far as calling parents or opting in for this to be available for your child. Hmmmm….

Of course, it depends on the age of the kids @KNOWITALL. A high school or Jr high kid they’d probably call the police.
There are legal ways to restrain an elementary school child who is a danger to themselves, etc.

He’s not locked in alone. There is a teacher in there with him, trying to help him calm down.
And they have to lock them in sometimes or they’ll run, and then the school is in a world of lawsuits if something happens to him if he leaves the grounds and gets hurt.

At the elementary level the students have to leave their cell phones in their back packs, and the back packs are left in the class room. They wouldn’t have them with them in the first place.

Allowing the kid to call the parents when he is in a rage is a very bad idea. There is no telling what they ‘d say. Besides, if a kid is that bad, it usually due to bad parenting. I have had kids lie and say I did things that I didn’t do.
The parents DO get called when a kid gets in trouble though.

It’s just a place for him to calm down in so the rest of the students can get back to work.

@Dutchess_III I agree it is absolutely the parent’s issue to deal with. I know that it has been a long time, but when I was in school if we acted up, we ended up at the principal’s office. That got us out of the classroom so we would no longer be the disruption. AND our parents were called to let them know we were disruptive. We really didn’t have that many disruptions. But according to this article, if I was reading it right, a teacher has to be there the entire time the child is in the de-escalation room. So it does take resources away from some other endeavor.

Yes. They now have “teachers” specifically for that @seawulf575. It’s actually their job so you aren’t really losing resources. Since I got back into teaching I’m finding we have more and more and more resources for those kids, and I don’t think it’s getting any better.

@Dutchess_III if they are hiring people for this specific reason, they ARE using resources that could be used elsewhere. Imagine if we gave actual teachers a raise or bought more supplies for the classroom instead of having to pay someone to watch kids in a padded room? And as you say, we are increasing resources for these kids and the situation isn’t getting better. Isn’t the definition of insanity when you try the same thing over and over expecting a different result? It’s time to try something different.

No. Their class rooms, the safe rooms, are theirs. They sit in there waiting for kids to be sent to them. And they don’t just sit with them. They try to teach coping skills. That’s what their formal training is.

If you have any suggestions that won’t lead to a lawsuit @seawulf575, I can certainly suggest it.
For the vast majority of BD kids it’s their home life that causes it. Nothing anyone can do unless they show physical signs of abuse.
That really leaves the schools powerless. It’s like trying to stop the rising tide wih a push broom.

Unless they’ll perform police-style interrogation system in the room I question the effectiveness of the room. Discipline can be done in any room.

It isn’t discipline. It’s more like deflection and counseling, a way to calm the kid down so that the teacher can get on with the business of teaching the other 27 students in the room.” The benefit is not just for the unruly student.

The padded walls are over much, though. I’ve never seen a resource room with padded walls, but I have seen kids slamming their heads, over and over, on the wall in a regular classroom,or in the hall when they’re waiting in line, so it’s not such a bad idea either.

This topic is beyond my experience and expertise, but I could see this being abused by lazy staff avoiding having to deal with issues by shipping the kid off to the padded room. My fear is it would be used not all that unlike passing kids in class that haven’t learned the material just so they don’t have to repeat the grade (and the staff doesn’t have to spend another year with them), or how non-lethal weapons (pepper spray, tasers) get used in situations that are entirely inappropriate (e.g. peaceful protesters practicing civil disobedience).

In theory, it could be a useful tool, but I wouldn’t ever want it to be used as a convenience for teachers to make their day less stressful. I’m undecided.

@gorillapaws That’s how I feel, but I’m not a parent or teacher, so I wanted to hear all of you.

We do everything we possibly can to get him (it’s almost always boys) back on track before we use a resource room as a last resort. We are far from lazy, and we have a responsibility to the other students. When you have a particularly angry and agressive student who is threatening the other kids I see nothing wrong with getting some help.

You guys seem to keep forgetting that he’s just one of several students. Should that one kid take precedence over all the others?

@Dutchess_lll I would agree that the vast majority of teachers and staff are very var from lazy, but I’ve encountered a few in my years. The point is that the temptation to over rely on the resource room if it’s available would be there, and that some percent of teachers would probably abuse it instead of trying to solve the underlying problem (e.g. maybe the kid’s being physically/emotionally/sexually abused by a family member?).

I’m sure there’s a cost benefit to the whole thing, and it really is outside my area of experience.

Yes, more than likely those kids are being abused at home but there isn’t a thing we can do about it, unless they make a specific comment, or show up with bruises. Nothing. We are left with dealing with the symptoms because that’s all we can do.

I wouldn’t blame them for leaning hard on the resource room. They have a job to do for all 30 students. One student can make it impossible for them to do their job. Say the teacher has 45 minutes to start teaching the kids how to divide fractions. 30 minutes of that is spent trying to get one kid quiet and on task and to stay in his seat instead of running around the room, hitting other students.
I’d send him out within the first 10 minutes so we can get back to work.